


If The Ocean Could Sing

by ThisColdSunset



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-11 12:16:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4435139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisColdSunset/pseuds/ThisColdSunset
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ocean was a beautiful, dangerous thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Farewell's Melody

**Author's Note:**

> So it's tagged as DaiSuga, which it IS, but Daichi's gonna turn up in the next chapter~ This is the establishing chapter, but I already have most of the next chapter ready so I'll update if anyone likes it!

The ocean was a beautiful, dangerous thing.

It was made up of thousands of coloured fragments, each piece different and unique. The multitude of shades the ocean created couldn’t be bound by a single word, for it was a wild thing, something that couldn’t be placed in a cage or held down by shackles. Every movement it made was inimitable, and would never be made again. Each moment was different from the last, and not a single thing could change it.

Koushi had always wondered about the ocean.

He had wondered what had made it into such a strong, untameable beast, and each day he would find himself drawn in still by the susurrating sounds of waves upon sand. It mesmerised him, hypnotised him, and he couldn’t look away. The ocean was a part of his soul, waves crashed within his heart, and his memories were filled with the words of his mother, of dainty combs pulling through his ash-blonde hair, and of soft lullabies ringing in his ears.

_The ocean is our home, Koushi. It is the one place that we may return to when there is nothing left._

The ocean was not Koushi’s home.

*

Koushi stretched his fingers out in front of him, trying to capture the bubbles he created with his moving hands before they burst into nothingness. His mother was humming softly as she twisted her hair into an elegant design, and her happiness filled his ears and warmed his heart.

The tune was happy, but the ingrained lyrics that Koushi had memorisede when he was young were not, and they occupied his thoughts like shadows leaving reminders of darkness whenever the sun shines.

 _If the Ocean asks your name,_  
Say nothing in reply.  
If the Ocean wants to play a game,  
Say you do not wish to die.

Bright orange fish scattered as soon as Koushi touched their hiding place, fleeing the coral in search of a new place of escape. Giggling, he turned to meet the gaze of his mother as she swam towards him; her eyes alight with excitement and words forming on her lips as she drew closer.

 _The Ocean is not your enemy,_  
But She will never be your friend.  
All Her games come with a steep fee,  
Each mistake will leave you dead.

“My Koushi, we’re going to the surface to watch the moon tonight.” She whispered, as if she was confiding her deepest secrets to her son.

It was hardly a secret. Each full moon, the ocean emptied of singing voices as the merfolk disappeared to break the surface and sing to the moon and her stars. Koushi never went; he had no desire to face those his age who ridiculed him for his ugly legs that his sire had given him.

Born to his mother, an elegant and foolish merwoman who insisted that humans were kind, gentle creatures, he was the result of a spell that transformed his mother into a human woman for a day and a night. When she returned, her heart was filled with love for a sailor and her belly filled with a child, but when her beloved sailor discovered what she was, he held nothing but hate for the monster he had lain with.

She was alone when she gave birth to her son, for none wanted anything to do with the stupid merwoman who had fallen for a human man. Koushi was a deformed merchild, ridiculed for his ugly legs that were clumsy where twisting tails were not, yet Koushi’s mother adored him, and made sure to keep him from cruel talons and snide remarks.

Koushi mayn’t have had the body of the merfolk, but he could sing sweeter than any who had ever sung if only someone listened, and his eyes were the most alluring that had ever gazed upon the world. Koushi was a haunting beauty, and he lured in any who watched for too long.

No one ever looked at him. No one ever listened.

The children were all told to avoid Koushi, the cursed monster who belonged with the bloodthirsty creatures who lived on the dry land. His mother knew that her son was avoided like a disease, and she knew that, despite the strength he tried to display, the isolation was hurtful. She had never meant to have caused her own child such agony through her own selfish craving for the unknown land-dwellers.

Koushi shied away from his mother’s cheerful eyes, which immediately saddened when she realised that her son would remain behind once again. She almost begged for him to come along, but she knew that begging would do her no good.

Her son would make the choice out of his own free will, and no amount of pleading would ever be able to force him into changing his mind.

It caused her great sorrow to see her child filled with such grief for his own appearance, and each cruel remark directed towards her son cut her just as deep. Koushi was her son, and he had been created out of love.

She had never wanted her son to know anything else.

*

The ocean was filled with a hushed quiet that made Koushi feel incredibly unsettled. His world was almost always filled with the sounds of sweet singing drifting from one place or another, and emotions were constantly washing over him with each second.

For the ocean to feel so empty and devoid of emotion was unnatural, and no matter how hard Koushi tried, he could never remain alone in the silence for long. Perhaps, he should be used to the ocean in her silence, but after many years of trying to withstand it every full moon, Koushi had learnt not to bother.

Carefully, Koushi began to swim upwards as he had done so many times before, making sure that he avoided the beams of moonlight that were slowly sinking into the waters. He knew that the places of light would draw his people in, and he didn’t want anyone to look at him.

He knew he was ugly; and he didn’t need anyone to remind him of it.

His fingers were the first to breach the surface of the waves, and he slipped upwards into the air with a sharp gasp, cold air filling his lungs and striking his bare skin. The sight of the surging ocean meeting the starlit heavens, the water alight with dancing reflections; was a sight that never failed to burn into Koushi’s eyes until it was all he could see.

Recollections of a thousand other moments of breaking the surface joined together in that instant in Koushi’s mind, and each one was diverse, each one had its own emotions. His ears were filled with the singing as soon as his head was above water, and it almost stole the breath he was gulping at.

Bobbing in the water alongside the waves, Koushi stared at the glistening faces that congregated in the light of the moon, upturned as they sang a thousand different melodies that melded together. Koushi was so enthralled with the tumultuous sound of the songs that he almost, _almost_ missed the lapping noise of waves against the hardened, wooden hull of a ship.

It was this that brought with it a sense of dread like a shadowing lurking around a candle, for it could only mean one thing. _Humans_.

The merfolk had always been feared and loathed by the mortal humans of the land, who were forced to dwell upon the parched earth and never know the wonders of the deep.

The people of the sea were different to those of the earth, and humans have had a long history of hating what they did not understand. Of course they would not understand the aloof, ethereal creatures that whorled in the dark waters and sang as they lured in their prey.

Humans had refused to acknowledge the intelligence of their ocean-dwelling counterparts, and instead they tried to hunt the merfolk and turn the ocean into churning scarlet. It was a cruel realisation, when the humans discovered that prey could not hunt the predator. The ocean became something to be avoided, and the hatred of what lay in the depths of the cold, heartless ocean only grew with time, a weed strangling anything it came across.

For a split second, Koushi considered interrupting the singing and warning every one of the presence of the humans, but he hesitated, and the moment was lost to him forever.

With shouts drifting from the deck of the ship, the humans communicated with one another without any soft tunes, and their words fell flat on Koushi’s ears. The ship was steered towards the crowds of bobbing heads and sweet melodies, sliding through the water agilely and splitting it apart like a knife.

A sailor aimed his harpoon at one of the merfolk from where he leant against the edge of the ship, and all was still and silent as his companions followed suit. There was a moment where the sailors appeared to be frozen and the combined voices of the merfolk began to rise in a crescendo, and then the perfect moment was rent in two as the harpoons sailed through the air in unison, tearing swimming bodies apart.

There was a collective scream from the ocean which dulled and became a hissing noise. Their songs were no longer beautiful, they were violent and malicious with each note.

The sight of the sailors being drawn in by the enthralling singing of the sea children terrified Koushi more than anything had ever done before. They were eerily beautiful, their faces reflecting the pale light of the moon as if they were mirrors, or perhaps miniature moons resting upon the surface of the ocean.

With horror, the boy’s voice caught in his throat as he watched the humans jump from their ship and into enemy territory, lured in by the sound that had filled their ears. The waters were crimson, and soon the children of the sea had taken the entirety of the ship’s crew, leaving it alone in the red as everyone disappeared below the surface.

Monsters. These were the monsters that the humans had always referred to them as. They were something to be feared, and so Koushi did. It was with fear that he swam away from the silent ship and its red surroundings, further from the ocean’s deep than he had ever dared, and closer to the shore and the world of the humans than he had ever imagined.

The water foamed and bubbled around him as his legs kicked and his arms pushed him through the salt water that he had been raised in. As the water grew more and more shallow, Koushi closed his eyes tightly, lest his tears join the ocean and reveal his pain.

*

Alone, Koushi walked beside the ocean and watched the waves as they churned throughout the night. Just the once, he sang softly under his breath as he travelled along the beach, feeling the coarse sand clinging wet between his toes and the cool waves lapping at his ankles.

 _My final song,_ Koushi vowed to himself, _the final song I will ever sing. I can never be a monster who uses their voice as a weapon._

His voice rose and fell in the sweetest of laments, and after he fell silent, he turned away from the ocean, and all was hushed. It was a descant for the ocean’s tune that was best left unanswered.


	2. The Beginning Notes

The harsh cold of the wet sheets slapping against his face brought Koushi out of his daydream, and he blinked his eyes slowly so that he could bring his focus back to the present. Sharp salt and ocean spray were all that he could smell, and it took Koushi what felt like forever to tear away from old memories.

He shouldn’t be getting distracted at such a busy time of day, and there were so many other duties that he needed to attend to before he could afford to relax. Koushi bent at the waist and pulled another sheet out of the wicker basket at his feet, lifting it up and hanging it on the washing line beside its many companions.

“Um, excuse me?”

Startled, Koushi looked over his shoulder and observed the broad shouldered boy who stood there. His hair was dark and short, and his eyes were full of mysteries and puzzles waiting to be solved.

Remembering to be extra polite to potential patrons, Koushi turned completely so he was properly facing the other male. Koushi fixed a bright smile upon his face before asking, “How can I help you?”

“Uh… Are there- Are there any extra rooms here?” The boy stuttered when he spoke despite the aura of confidence he had about him, and Koushi couldn’t do anything but assume that he was shy around strangers.

“Yes, we have a few rooms available at the moment. If you head that way,” Koushi gesticulated towards the main house and reception area, “I’m sure the landlord can help find somewhere suitable for you.”

The boy nodded and made to walk in the direction of the boarding house before pausing and holding out his hand.

Gripping Koushi’s hand tightly in his own, the other boy said in all seriousness, “Sawamura Daichi. Thank you for your assistance.”

“Koushi. Just… Just Koushi.” Koushi flushed.

The boy’s face brightened at this, and he grinned as he released Koushi’s hand. “Okay, I’m just Daichi, then.”

And with that, the strange boy ran over to the tavern in search of the landlady. After watching Daichi amble in through the entrance, Koushi shrugged to himself and returned to the basket of wet sheets. Even after being surrounded by them for months, they never failed to surprise him.

*

After the washing had all been hung out to dry in the wind, there were bedrooms that needed to be cleaned and aired out while their owners were walking about in the main town or heckling with travelling merchants, and there were bathrooms that needed to be cleaned after being used by the ten or so people living in the inn.

Well, maybe eleven or so, if the Daichi man decided on staying. He hadn’t been carrying very much in the way of luggage, so perhaps he was just passing through.

Hours passed by very quickly as Koushi worked, and before long he was finishing up in the dining hall, polishing champagne flutes and various pieces of silverware until everything sparkled. Just as he put the final glass back in its place, he heard the door behind him open.

Spinning around at the sound, Koushi came face to face with the landlord, Ukai Keishin, and Daichi, who was standing awkwardly behind the older man.

“Aha! Here we go; I knew I’d find him around here someplace! Never slacks off, I tell you, unlike some of the other kids I’ve employed. They all get so distracted nowadays…” Ukai told Daichi, sweeping a hand through his blonde hair, strands of it slipping from the band he’d tied them back with.

Ukai Keishin wasn’t the official landlord per se, rather, he was taking care of the place for his grandfather, who had been staying at the local sick house since before Koushi got the chance to meet him. Because of the older Ukai’s illness, his grandson had taken over the business alongside the small stall he set up at markets.

He certainly wasn’t a typical looking landlord, and he could often intimidate people by appearances alone, but he had a kind personality despite the whispers about his _numerous female conquests and his multiple piercings and did you hear that he’s taken a fancy to men now?_

Koushi knew it was all rubbish. Ukai only had eyes for his friend, Takeda Ittestu, who came by to make sure that Ukai didn’t run his business into the ground by ignoring taxes, and he made sure all of the employees were paid on time.

“But yeah, I have no idea how I did anything without Koushi working here, and he only started a little over a year ago now.”

Koushi flushed. “Please, don’t exaggerate. The others work just as much as I do, you should be praising them, too!”

Ukai waved him off before turning to Daichi. “So, you mentioned something about needing to go to the market to get stuff?”

“Uh, yeah. I have to get better clothes; nothing’s really warm enough for this weather."

"Can you believe it? He’s training to be a scientist and he didn’t prepare for cold weather!”

Daichi nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Well, Koushi here’s your man. He knows the town like the back of his hand. You know he spent the first few weeks in this place just walking around the market place tasting and buying anything he could get his hands on?”

Koushi hung his head, not wanting to meet Daichi’s gaze. Ukai’s words made him sound like a child, and in a way, Koushi could certainly see that he had indeed acted like one. Everything was so different when he first arrived, and after he had worked out that no one was going to kill him, he had managed to gain enough courage to make actual contact with people.

The first person he met had been a sweet girl, Kiyoko Shimizu, who had taken him to her own workplace to see if the newcomer could get a job alongside hers. It had taken a while, but now Koushi was pretty confident with everything he did.

“I don’t want to be any trouble, I’m sure I can find my way myself.”

“Actually, I’ve just finished my last task. If you give me a moment, I’d love to take you!”

Koushi offered a smile at the brunette, and received a small, reserved one in return.

“See, what did I tell you? Poor kid will do anything you ask him; he’s too nice for his own good.” Ukai grinned at Daichi, and then leant in to whisper conspiratorially, “The only thing he won’t do is go out on dates with anyone, all the girls have asked him a few times but he keeps saying no to everyone… If you ask me, I reckon he’s got a different kind of preference, not that I’ve asked or anything.”

Daichi’s eyes widened at the older man’s crude words, and he looked at the ash blonde who was standing across from them, eyes looking extremely confused. Daichi hoped the other hadn’t heard, he’d be mortified if he had.

“Um… I’ll put my apron away and come join you at the front door, okay?” Koushi asked, and Daichi nodded in confirmation, eyes trailing after the other boy as he slipped out of the room.

*

“You don’t have any warm clothes with you at all? Not even a proper cloak?” Koushi asked, disbelief laced into his voice.

Daichi shook his head, but his eyes remained trained on the stall before him, an assortment of woollen breeches and underclothes set out. “Nope. I’m from a farming town in the south, and everything’s really warm down there for most parts of the year. I mean, there is winter, but not like up here. I had no clue it would be this cold!”

“It takes many by surprise.” Koushi agreed, feeling a pair of soft, blue socks and trying to determine what sort of wool had been used by touch alone. “The ocean air gives a deep chill many southerners haven’t ever felt in their lives.”

They had moved on to another stall, this one filled with sweetened nuts and dried fruits from the warmer seasons, when Daichi began with his own questions.

“So where are you from? What brought you to this place?” Daichi questioned, looking curiously at the other boy, who was sampling one of the newest flavours of roasted peanuts that the salesman had to offer.

“I’m… Not from anywhere in particular. I was raised by travelling merchants, but I didn’t really belong with them. I wanted to find somewhere settled, and here is where I ended up. It took me a while to work out how money and stuff worked though.” Koushi replied wryly.

The lie came to his lips easily now, he had spent ages building on it and perfecting it as he repeated himself to everyone he came across. Now everyone saw him as the sweet wanderer-boy with the funny accent and his strange way of walking, as if he hadn’t walked a day in his life.

People made explanations for Koushi at this point, though, and they all told each other that wanderers didn’t walk anyway, they only danced. And dance Koushi could, he could twist his body in time to music like a fish swimming in water.

“And why did you move here from your farming town?” Koushi threw back, wanting to turn the attention away from himself.

“The ocean.”

“Huh?” Koushi frowned at the other as they walked between stalls. Daichi just kept getting stranger and stranger.

“The ocean. I’ve never seen it before, and it’s always been so fascinating to me.” Daichi gave a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders.

Koushi could hardly believe it. This was the first human he had encountered that actually spoke of the ocean without adding a few curse words alongside it. “Many would call you a fool for calling something so dangerous _fascinating_.”

“Oh, but it is! It’s water that never stops moving, and it’s teeming with life… And the monsters that lurk there are the most interesting of them all!” Daichi waved his arms about excitedly, passion burning in his veins and shining in his eyes.

Koushi nodded, “The sea folk?”

Daichi grinned and shook his head, “No, that’s a romanticised term.”

“I guess so. But what business do you have with them?”

“I’m going to study them! There’s an expedition being planned, and we’re going to capture some and bring them back here so we can learn more about them!” Daichi bounced on his heels, and Koushi looked at the other with something akin to horror.

_That’s suicide._

*

Laden with thick, warm clothing for Daichi’s new wardrobe, the two trudged back to the lodge so Koushi could begin making dinner. Despite the rather large amount of food that needed to be made, it was hardly ever a challenge, especially not with Shimizu whirling around the kitchen like a storm, but they still had to start early so everything would be done and everyone could eat at their own pace.

Cutting vegetables with terrifying precision, Koushi managed to keep up a conversation with Shimizu and the two other staff members moving around stoves and chopping boards.

The first was a tall, bulky boy, who was nearly the same age as Koushi, but his appearance made him seem much older, and his height struck fear in almost anyone who met him. His name was Azumane Asahi, and he was basically a giant angel covered in rippling muscles, and oftentimes love bites from his feisty, tiny partner Nishinoya Yuu, who came to visit when he was hungry.

The second was two years younger than Koushi, and almost always looked like he was going to kill everything around him just through sheer force of will. This one’s name was Kageyama Tobio, and according to him, he didn’t have a sweetheart, however everyone saw how he eyed the ginger delivery boy who came around far too many times than was completely necessary for his job.

Between the four of them, they all managed to whip up the massive amount of food required for all staff and customers, and more than enough left over for the uninvited-but-always-welcome extras that without fail arrived on the doorstep one after another.

It ended up being a hearty meal, with a few travellers who were staying for just the night with tales of their misadventures on their journeys, the entirety of the staff and most of their significant others, and the four legitimately registered guests: Daichi, an old man and his wife, and a serving man who had recently been fired.

The dining hall was the loudest it had ever been, and raucous laughter continuously bounced off of the walls as Ukai told jokes to Tobio’s ginger “acquaintance” and Asahi’s similarly short partner. Despite their small frames, they appeared to be the ones making the most noise.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Tobio was sweet-talked into playing the piano by his _friend_ despite numerous mutterings of _dumbass Shouyou_ , and everyone gathered round to listen to the charming tune coaxed out of the piano keys by Tobio’s fingers.

Soon enough, Shouyou was singing along with the tune, and Yuu had joined in harmony, and the room was filled with the sound of the piano and the drinking songs that the two slightly inebriated short boys were practically shouting.

“Hey, Koushi? Do you know any songs? Like from before, in your travelling days?” Daichi asked as the last verses were belted out.

Koushi hesitated before replying. “Not really. I mean, I know the words, but I’ve never been any good at it. I sound like a dying seagull.”

Daichi snorted at Koushi’s words, and the ash blonde sighed in relief. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest, and despite anything that occurred around him, he couldn’t get back into the festive mood without remembering the horrible things that his voice was capable of doing.

When sleep began to control everyone’s movements, people began to file into their rooms so they could rest before the next sunrise. It was then that Daichi caught Koushi by the shoulder and turned him around.

“Hey, when is your next day off?”

“Um… After I clean up after breakfast tomorrow, Shimizu will take over with cleaning and stuff… Why?” Koushi frowned, completely bemused.

Daichi was silent, and he scuffed at the ground with his feet for a moment before saying, “Would you mind spending the day with me tomorrow?”

Breath catching in his throat, Koushi did the only thing he could think of doing.

“N-not at all.” Koushi gave a quick nod, and he turned away and ran off to his room as quickly as he could, his face burning bright red even though he absolutely did _not_ have a reason to be embarrassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!! So I've had a lot of great comments here, and a lot of people telling me that I should continue so voila! {This would've been up yesterday if the site wasn't down, but it's all good, we're here now!!}


	3. The Duet's Accelerando

Koushi opened his eyes slowly, his lids still heavy and resisting his fight to keep them open long enough to adjust to the morning light. He stifled a yawn before rolling over in his bed, the sheets so warm and comforting that he was reluctant to leave them.

 _Your jobs aren’t going to do themselves, Koushi_ , he scolded himself before flinging the sheets back and sitting up in bed.

It was at this moment that he noticed how bright his room truly was. Turning to look out his window, the curtains were pulled back just enough for him to see how high the sun had risen over the horizon.

He had been dreaming for far too long.

Panic pouring into his bloodstream and making his heart beat thrice its usual speed, Koushi sprinted out of his bedroom in nothing but his nightshirt, apologies already forming on the tip of his tongue. When he slid to a stop in the kitchen, it was to the sight of Shimizu calmly taking a sip of her coffee at the kitchen counter, breakfast dishes already soaking in the sink.

“Shimizu, I can’t even begin to-”

Shimizu instantly waved Koushi’s apology away. “It’s fine, Koushi. I went in to wake you up, but you looked like you were having a good dream, so I let you sleep.”

She then made her way over to the stove, were a large pot of porridge was being kept warm. She found a bowl and filled it with the sweet porridge before placing it into Koushi’s hands.

“Eat. And don’t even try to say that it’s too much food, I’ve seen you eat an entire basket of toffee apples in one hit.”

Flushing, Koushi thanked the girl silently as he left for the dining room. It was true; he had an exceptional ability for devouring unholy amounts of food.

Settling down at a corner seat, he ate slowly so he could savour the taste of Shimizu’s coveted cooking. She truly did have a skill like no other. Koushi was so focused on relishing in the flavour of the porridge that he didn’t even notice the door swinging open to allow someone to enter.

“Oh, Koushi. I’ve been looking for you.”

Daichi stood leaning against the door’s threshold, a satchel slung over his shoulder and looking completely amused at the sight before him. Well, it was indeed an entertaining sight, with Koushi looking anything but professional or prepared for their day’s outing. His hair was fluffed up in the way only his pillow could cause, and he was sitting curled up in a chair at the dining table wearing his white nightshirt and eating porridge like it was his last meal on the earth.

Starting in his seat, Koushi looked up with wide eyes. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, I completely forgot! I’ll go get changed, I’m so very sorry!”

Koushi stood up and was about to run off when Daichi shook his head and said quickly, “No, no, it’s fine. Stay here and eat, I don’t mind.”

The ash blonde sat down slowly once more, all too aware of Daichi’s eyes running over him. He wished now that he had thought to dress himself properly; he knew he must look like a fool wearing his night things.

Silence fell between them, nothing to be heard but steady breathing and the harsh scrape of Koushi’s spoon against the insides of the bowl, and Koushi began to fidget in his seat it made him so uncomfortable.

He didn’t like the quiet, never had, and now all it did was remind him of the horrid, eerie silence of the ocean as crimson clouded amongst the waves before being diluted. The ocean was so much bigger than the blood of a ship’s crew, and it wouldn’t have taken long for the traces of their existence to completely disappear.

Shivering, he opened his mouth to say something, anything at all to break the silence, but was interrupted before he ever had the chance. The heavy door was thrown open as wide as it could, and in stepped two young men rather wrapped up in their own activities.

“Noya…” Was the pant passing through Asahi’s lips, whilst the other’s own mouth was too focused on pressing into Asahi’s neck.

Koushi stood up quietly, familiar with the antics of the two and intent on leaving before anything escalated, but Daichi gave a startled gasp at their appearance, and alerted them of the presence of others.

The two tangled lovers tore apart quickly but reluctantly, Asahi’s face filling with mortification and Noya’s with something akin to disappointment.

“Oh, Koushi… I- We were just…” Asahi fumbled for words as the four stood awkwardly in the dining room, no one sure on what to say or how to move on.

“It’s okay, we were just leaving,” Koushi tried to hide his smile but, failing miserably, started laughing as he swept up his breakfast dishes and made his way to the ajar door, “Please try to keep the mess to a minimum. And please don’t use the table, it’s for eating, not fornication.”

*

Koushi’s room was so full of random things, Daichi wasn’t too sure if he’d entered another part of the boarding house or a travelling merchant’s tent. A vase of flower clippings taken from the garden outside stood on the windowsill, alongside colourful stones and strangely shaped rocks.

There was a strange box sitting on the table that was crammed into the far corner, and it was stuffed full of so much that it wouldn’t close. The cupboard was in a similar state, with clothes draped over hangers and a collection of nameless items littering its floor that were decidedly not clothes.

“Turn around.”

Daichi blinked at the ash blonde, who was staring at him with his strange eyes as if he were an idiot.

“Pardon?” Was all Daichi could think to say.

“I said turn around. I’m dressing.”

He almost stopped breathing at these words, and he spun around without another word.

“Where did you want to go today, Daichi?” Koushi was saying, voice slightly muffled. The sound of material sliding over skin was almost deafening.

“I have no idea. I don’t really know my way around.”

“What were you hoping to do, then?” A smile was definitely in Koushi’s voice now, “Finished!”

Turning around, Daichi’s thoughts turned to the not so innocent when he saw the flowing shape of the material that hung off of Koushi’s body, the dark blue contrasting dramatically with his pale skin.

“Beautiful,” A word that escaped him before he could stop it, “I was… I was hoping to go somewhere beautiful.”

“I think I know where to go.” Koushi said, a bright grin, stretched all the way across his face so Daichi could see his dimples, and eyes crinkled at the corners as his happiness covered his face. Koushi glows when he smiles.

*

His thighs burning and sweat beading against his brow, Koushi pushed himself uphill as the two made their way through the underbrush and the shaded cool of the looming trees. Daichi wasn’t panting as much as Koushi was, no doubt being used to exerting himself in such ways, yet he seemed to be taking his time and waiting patiently for Koushi to lead the way upwards.

The hill rose up behind the boarding house, at first with an incline too gentle to notice, but later getting steeper and steeper so it winded anyone unused to walking so high or so much… Winding anyone unused to walking at all.

The trees were beginning to thin around them, instead being replaced by dainty flowers blooming in the light and releasing their gentle fragrances. As the two broke through the fauna and into an elliptical clearing, Koushi watched as Daichi’s eyes widened as he observed their surroundings.

Green light filtered through the canopy of leaves above them, the boughs of the trees forming a roof, their trunks walls. Amongst the ancient, intertwining trees were walls made of stone, moulded into nature seamlessly.

“It was a temple, long ago. Ukai said that people used to climb up here every day to pray to their deities, but then the silence of their gods became too much, and they stopped coming.”

Daichi nodded, silent in his awe for the strange architecture as he stepped inside. He had never seen anything like it in his lifetime. Behind him, Koushi was settling down on the grass, careful to not crush any of the flowers beneath him.

“What are these?” Daichi asked, a frown crossing his face as his fingers brushed over the engravings that covered the stone.

Koushi glanced over to see what the other boy meant before nodding to himself. “I’m not too sure. I think they could’ve been pictures of the gods they were praying to.”

“These are no gods, Koushi.”

And perhaps, to Daichi, the images carved deep into the flesh of the stone walls were not of powerful deities, but instead of malicious nightmares. For Koushi, the snaking tails with uneven etches cut into them, reminiscent of scales, were familiar, beautiful.

The dark haired boy came out of the old, open building and onto the green grass again, taking a seat a short way away from his companion, who was staring off into the distance. Looking in the same direction, Daichi immediately saw why.

From where they were sitting, they could see through the wall of trees and into the town below them. Paddocks of green and filled with the small moving specks that the livestock had become with the distance, a colourful patch that was most definitely the marketplace, and, in the furthest distance, the ocean.

Without even thinking, Daichi slipped his satchel off of his shoulder and pulled out the pencil and sketching pad he always took with him, pencil already forming silver lines across the blank page. He was lost in his drawing for a moment, but was drawn away from it when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Koushi was busying himself with something in his hands and, looking closer, Daichi realised that he was weaving flowers and twigs together into a crown.

“You can weave?”

The other boy tilted his head to the side, “And you can draw.”

Daichi shrugged.

When he was younger, his mother had told him to run away to the city and become a famous painter, but his father had been most displeased with that notion. Painters didn’t have guaranteed jobs, they could easily become unemployed if their work wasn’t noticed or appreciated, and he had feared the worst for his son. And so Daichi became a scientist, a researcher of the unknown, an explorer of the ocean’s secrets. His father’s worry was not appeased, not with the knowledge that Daichi would soon tempt fate and attempt to study the sea monsters below the waves.

Koushi’s fingers were moving again, the stems of the flowers soft and pliable between his fingers. He was able to bend and tie them together, threading the flowers through one another, and a look of such deep concentration had formed on Koushi’s face that Daichi found it difficult to look away.

The ash blonde was different to anyone he had ever known in a way that Daichi couldn’t describe. It was apparent in the soft lilt to his voice as he spoke, and the way he swayed with his walk without even noticing. His eyes had a forever faraway look in them, as if he had seen more than Daichi ever could, and knew more than he could ever say in his lifetime. They were of the same age, but Koushi seemed centuries apart from everyone around him, and it was beautiful.

So enthralling were the lines of his body, the shape of his mouth, the emotion in his eyes. Daichi’s pencil began moving without a thought, the view from his perch suddenly forgotten as his attention was drawn to the soft smile playing over Koushi’s lips.

Clouds slipped across the horizon, the sun hovering above the ocean’s waves framed by the trees that surrounded their calm, quiet hiding place. And Koushi. Sitting in the centre of careful grey lines, his beauty captured for that instant in time, wreaths of flowers resting in his lap as he wound blooming flowers into crowns.

Daichi was so busy staring at the beautiful creature he had captured in paper that he didn’t even notice the other body pressing into his side until a weight was being lain on the crown of his head.

“What’s this?”

The dark haired boy looked to his left, watching the other’s face as he examined Daichi’s drawing. A warm flush was growing around his neck and cheeks, and he glanced shyly at Daichi through his lashes.

“I don’t truly look like that, though. You’ve made me look like a fairy from the stories.”

“I’m not someone who can imagine and make up pretty things, Koushi… And you are quite pretty,” Daichi smiled, enjoying the sight of Koushi’s reddening cheeks before adding, “Like a fairy _prince_ from the stories.”

Koushi’s embarrassment was getting the better of him, as was his incredible shyness of unknown emotions, and he stood up promptly, crown of colourful blooms fixed neatly on his head. He was moving, distancing himself from the dark haired boy, and Daichi didn’t want to let him run away.

Chasing after him amongst the smooth trunks of trees older than time, Daichi ran downhill until he caught up with the other boy, one hand holding Koushi’s.

“Are you going to disappear now? Is this the part where the fairy returns to wherever they came from?”

Eyes wide and lips parted ever so slightly, Koushi shook his head as their eyes met before touching his lips to Daichi’s. A soft, chaste kiss before pulling apart and watching his feet. Inside his chest, his heart was beating so hard against his ribs that he could feel a bruise forming over it.

They stood there, just the two of them, for quite some time. There was a strange feeling deep inside of Koushi, something resonating in his very bones, and when he looked up at Daichi, he could tell that the dark haired boy could feel it too.

Their trek back down to the boarding house was quiet, the silence broken every few moments by a giggle from Koushi whenever Daichi ducked down to press a kiss against his neck, his cheek.

Nearing the tall building that signified the end of their day’s adventures, their steps slowed so they would have more time with one another without prying eyes, and Koushi was growing braver in returning Daichi’s affections.

“I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Koushi,” Daichi smiled at him as they strolled up the cobblestone path together.

“Well, you’re not so ordinary yourself, Daichi.” Koushi replied, slipping his hand into Daichi’s own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading~~  
> Please leave kudos and a comment if you liked it and think I should continue <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> So if you liked it, leave a comment and kudos if you think I should continue (Feedback would be brilliant too!)
> 
> Also, if you have any prompts, feel free to leave them here or on my tumblr: http://ohlookitsfanfic.tumblr.com/  
> I can do ANY fandom, ANY au, ANY ship because I am in love with basically every ship, I adore aus, and I am apart of too many fandoms to count...
> 
> Thank you so much for reading :D


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